Maymont is seeking donations of greenery, floral arrangements, wreaths, swags and other seasonal items for its “Deck the Halls” auction next week. To donate, call Maymont volunteer Beverly Bouse at (804) 356-4003. Donations of greenery also will help Maymont horticulture staffers as they decorate the estate for the holiday season. Greenery needed includes holly, juniper, white pine, cedar, berried plants, boxwood and nandina. Call (804) 358-7166, ext. 326, for more information.

It boasts ocean views, an infamous former owner—and now a buyer willing to pay more than $8.75 million. An unidentified buyer or buyers snapped up Bernard Madoff’s Long Island beach house within days after the U.S. Marshals Service put the seized property up for sale, a spokeswoman for broker The Corcoran Group said yesterday. Spokeswoman Anne Lacombe said the fallen money manager’s Montauk retreat was under contract for more than its $8.75 million asking price. She didn’t have the exact figure, any information on the intended buyer or the closing date.

In the market for a 120-room hotel? If so, one off Interstate 95 in Petersburg is available—for the right price. The independent hotel at 405 E. Washington St. is in foreclosure and will be auctioned off Wednesday by National Commercial Auctioneers. “It’s basically been mismanaged. Obviously, the property is being foreclosed on, so they’re not paying their bills,“ said Fernando Palacios, regional vice president for Tulsa, Okla.-based National Commercial Auctioneers. “The property is still open and they’re still taking reservations. People are still staying there; it’s not like it is closed down or shut down.“

About 55 foreclosed homes, including six in the Richmond area and 14 in the Norfolk area, are set to be auctioned Aug. 1 and 2. Single-family homes, condos and two four-units are available. Tax credits and financing programs may be available. Most houses will be open for inspection July 25 and July 26 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Homes not sold during a pre-auction sales period will be offered at one of the two scheduled auctions.

About 400 people turned out for yesterday’s auction, conducted by Irvine, Calif.-based Real Estate Disposition Corp.

Looking for a bargain on a foreclosed house? You could find what you’re looking for at an auction Sunday at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

A home for art and the art within it are up for auction this week as a final bequest by the man who assembled them. From a 6½-foot-tall granite sculpture by Charles B. Foster to a 3¾-inch square pastel-on-paper by Shawna Spangler, the collection of William J. Fields spans a gamut of styles and materials. Fields directed that much of his collection and his home at The Prestwould condominiums be sold upon his death to benefit 1708 Gallery, the Virginia Opera Association, the Richmond Ballet, Trinity Episcopal School and others. Fields died May 21 at age 71.

An auction of repurposed home items - bird feeders made from fruit crates and quilts stitched out of old blue jeans - will be part of a free community environmental fair tomorrow at John Tyler Community College. Revive Green Initiative: Community Challenge and Fool for Art Silent Auction will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at John Tyler’s Midlothian campus on Charter Colony Parkway.

APowhatan County estate praised as one of Virginia’s important surviving early-19th-century plantation complexes—and its three floors and outbuildings of furniture, decorative arts and farm equipment—will soon be sold at auction. Motley’s Auction & Realty Group will conduct the sale of Paxton on Sunday on behalf of the property’s owners, who are now in a nursing home.

A federal judge today approved Circuit City Stores Inc’s plan to start going out of business. Liquidation sales at all 567 stores begin tomorrow.

A second attempt to sell Michael Vick’s former house and dogfighting compound in Surry County at auction failed yesterday. None of the prospective buyers produced the necessary 10 percent deposit, the auctioneer said. Tim Dudley of Motley’s Auction and Realty Group in Richmond said seven groups of would-be buyers showed up to bid on the five-bedroom house on 15 acres at 1915 Moonlight Road, for which the current owner wanted at least $590,000. But because none of the bidders brought a sufficient deposit, the auction did not proceed, Dudley said.